For parents

We have produced a number of free resources on child language development for parents and people working with young children. These are made available on this page and can be shared freely.

Magazine article

• BBC Tiny Happy People article

Newsletters

LuCiD has a quarterly newsletter to keep our partners, colleagues and interested people up to date. See our full catalogue of newsletters below:

April 2025, August 2024, April 2024 , August 2023, March 2023,

Short talks

Watch our series of short talks about how children learn to communicate with language.

What do babies know when?

Our very own Prof Ben Ambridge presents a series of short films for BBC Tiny Happy People on baby development and language milestones. Each of the five short videos covers a communication milestone from a baby’s first year and explains the science behind it. Watch all the videos here or jump to the milestone that interests you the most below:

• 0-3 months: How far can newborn babies see?
• 3-6 months: How can peekaboo help babies to learn?
• 3-6 months: Is speaking in baby talk good for babies’ language learning?
• 6-9 months: Can you get your baby to babble more?
• 9-12 months: What is my baby interested in?

Language development milestones

How does it come about that within the first few years of a child’s life, babies master language – one of the most complex phenomena. The following two short videos will take you on a journey through your child’s language development in the first two years of life.

• Baby’s First Year
• Baby’s Second Year

External resources for parents and families

• BBC Tiny Happy People
• I CAN’s Talking Point
• The Communication Trust’s resources for parents and families
• The National Literacy Trust’s resources for parents and families

Take part in a study

To carry out child language research we rely on the help of hundreds of parents and children volunteers. If you have a child aged 0-10 years and would like to take part in a study, please sign up at one of our language centres.

Our studies take place in Lancaster, Liverpool, and Manchester. Use the links below to register:

• Sign up for studies at the Lancaster University Infant and Child Development Lab
• Sign up for studies at the University of Liverpool Language Lab
• Sign up for studies at the University of Manchester Child Study Centre

If you join the volunteer list you are not, at this stage, agreeing to take part in a study. You are simply agreeing to be contacted about future studies.